Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old former logistics manager, has emerged as a feminist symbol as she insists that the public trial of her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and 50 other men accused of complicity in her rapes is conducted openly. This trial, which has drawn national attention in France, is now approaching a pivotal moment as Gisèle is set to testify on Wednesday regarding the evidence presented so far.

For nearly a decade, from 2011 to 2020, Gisèle was unknowingly sedated and sexually assaulted by her then-husband. Dominique Pelicot, now 71, admitted to crushing sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications into her meals and drinks while inviting men from an online chatroom named “without her knowledge” to assault her while she lay incapacitated in their home in the village of Mazan, Provence.

In a chilling admission to the court, Dominique Pelicot declared, “I am a rapist, like the others in this room,” asserting that the men on trial were fully aware they were being invited to commit these acts against his wife.

“I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr. Pelicot or those other men,” Gisèle testified last month, describing her experience as having been “sacrificed on the altar of vice.”

The courtroom has witnessed nearly two months of testimony, with many of the accused men denying the charges. Some claimed they believed Gisèle was merely pretending to be asleep or was engaged in a game, while others stated they felt her husband’s consent was enough. Police uncovered video evidence of the assaults only after Dominique was arrested in 2020 for filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket.

Law enforcement identified 50 men from video recordings meticulously labeled and stored by Pelicot. The accused, ranging in age from 26 to 74, include a diverse group—nurses, journalists, prison officers, local officials, soldiers, truck drivers, and farm workers—face potential sentences of up to 20 years for various charges, including rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault.

Gisèle has expressed her humiliation at the questioning posed by the defense attorneys, who suggested the men might have misjudged the situation or believed she was drunk and complicit. “I have felt humiliated while I’ve been in this courtroom. I have been called an alcoholic, a conspirator of Mr. Pelicot,” she said last month, emphasizing that her life has been “destroyed” over the last decade due to the trauma inflicted upon her. “In the state I was in, I absolutely could not respond. I was in a comatose state – the videos show that.”

As the trial reaches its halfway mark, Gisèle has been invited by the court president to share her insights. Her attorney, Antoine Camus, noted that she pushed for a public trial because “that’s what her attackers would have wanted.” She hopes the proceedings will shine a light on the alarming issue of drugging in sexual assaults.

Support for Gisèle has swelled as thousands have taken to the streets across France, rallying in her favor. The trial is set to continue until December 20.